OTTAWA, Ontario, April 08, 2009 — The seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of housing starts increased to 154,700 units in March from 136,100 units in February, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
“Higher multiple starts in Ontario and Quebec were the main contributors to the rise in new construction activity in March,” said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre. “While the multiples segment experienced the largest increase, the overall boost in starts was broad based, encompassing the singles segment as well.”
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased 17 per cent to 127,900 units in March. Urban multiple starts increased 28.3 per cent to 81,500 units, while urban single starts moved up by 1.3 per cent to 46,400 units in March.
March’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 35 per cent in Ontario and by 23.3 per cent in Quebec. Urban starts declined by 17.3 per cent in British Columbia, by 7.9 per cent in Atlantic Canada, and by 7.5 per cent in the Prairies.
Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 26,800 units in March2.
New home construction is now at a more sustainable level after having been exceptionally strong over the past 7 years, exceeding 200,000 units per year.
As Canada’s national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable, and affordable homes — homes that will continue to create vibrant and healthy communities and cities across the country.
For more information, call 1-800-668-2642.
1 All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts, are seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) — that is, monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels.
2 CMHC estimates the level of rural starts for each of the three months of the quarter, at the beginning of each quarter. During the last month of the quarter, CMHC conducts the survey in rural areas and revises the estimate.
| Information on this release: |
| Kristen Scheel CMHC Media Relations Tel.: 613-748-2799 Cell: 613-316-2949 kscheel@cmhc-schl.gc.ca |
| For regional starts information contact: | |
|
Atlantic provinces: Matthew Gilmore CMHC 902-426-4686 mgilmore@cmhc-schl.gc.ca Ontario: British Columbia: |
Quebec: Kevin Hughes CMHC 514-283-4488 khughes@cmhc-schl.gc.ca Prairie provinces: |
| Housing Starts, Actual and SAAR* | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actual | SAAR | |||
| March 2008 |
March 2009 |
February 2009 |
March 2009 |
|
| Final | Preliminary | Final | Preliminary | |
| Canada, all areas | 16,423 | 9,728 | 136,100 | 154,700 |
| Canada, rural areas | 807 | 1,099 | 26,800 | 26,800 |
| Canada, urban centres** | 15,616 | 8,629 | 109,300 | 127,900 |
| Canada, singles, urban centres | 4,749 | 2,566 | 45,800 | 46,400 |
| Canada, multiples, urban centres | 10,867 | 6,063 | 63,500 | 81,500 |
| Atlantic region, urban centres | 522 | 244 | 8,800 | 8,100 |
| Quebec, urban centres | 2,968 | 2,561 | 28,700 | 35,400 |
| Ontario, urban centres | 4,987 | 4,113 | 45,100 | 60,900 |
| Prairie region, urban centres | 4,768 | 967 | 14,600 | 13,500 |
| British Columbia, urban centres | 2,371 | 744 | 12,100 | 10,000 |
Source: CMHC
*Seasonally adjusted annual rates
** Urban centres with a population of 10,000 and over.
Detailed data available upon request.